[30m] Screwdriver antenna problem

[Jason Hsu, AA0II]

I apologize for yesterday's no-show.  I have an antenna problem that I
STILL haven't been able to diagnose.  And I have a dirty little secret:
I'm the most incompetent antenna installer to ever earn a license.
Other people can work the world with double digit SWR, a dummy load, or
a piece of scrap metal lying around.  On the other hand, I can't radiate
anything unless everything about the antenna is just perfect.  (Well, at
least I didn't shoot my hunting partner.)

I'm using a DK3 Screwdriver antenna in the backyard.  When I adjust the
coil for minimum SWR (as shown by my antenna analyzer), I transmit and
find that the SWR is extremely high.  I switch back to the antenna
analyzer and find that the SWR has gone back up to 4 or more.  What's
more, the SWR shows no minimum when I tune through the frequencies.  In
fact, disconnecting the antenna from the coax doesn't seem to change the
SWR in this case.  When I bring the antenna analyzer outside and connect
it directly to the antenna (bypassing all of the coax, the ICE surge
suppressor, and the balun), I still find the same behavior but at a
higher SWR (presumably because of the elimination of coax losses).

The problem doesn't come up when I connect the antenna-end of the coax
to a dummy load.  So it has to be the antenna.  I tried using alcohol
wipes to clean the parts of the antenna where the wires leading to the
balun are attached.  I checked the connection between the upper whip and
the lower mast unit and couldn't find a problem.

HELP!  What could my problem possibly be?

Jason Hsu, AA0II